The Phillies Zone

Just heard that the Phillies have set up their rotation for the first three games of the National League division series against the Milwaukee Brewers: Cole Hamels will pitch Game 1 on Wednesday, Brett Myers will pitch Game 2 on Thursday and Jamie Moyer will pitch Game 3 on Saturday.

This isn't a surprise.

Hamels is their best pitcher, so they will pitch him Game 1. Myers dominated the Brewers earlier this month. And because the Brewers struggle against righthanded pitching, they probably didn't want the Brewers to face back-to-back lefthanders. The Phillies think they have a handle on Myers' recent pitching woes, but we'll know for sure Thursday. And Moyer goes Saturday in Game 3 in Milwaukee.

So what happens after that?

I think it depends on the situation. If the Phillies lead the best-of-five series, 2-1, you might see Joe Blanton on Sunday. If the Brewers lead, 2-1, the Phillies have to decide if they want to pitch Hamels on short rest or stick wtih Blanton and bring back Hamels at full strength for Game 5.